Comments on: ASMR

By: Bruce Woodward

Bruce Woodward — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:55:14 +0000

phe·nom·e·non
/fəˈnäməˌnän/Noun
1.A fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, esp. one whose cause is in question.

Why would questioning the cause give you cause to take offense? Steve clearly stated he believed it was real, he was just not sure of what causes it.

By: ryca

ryca — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:00:35 +0000

I really take offense to this author’s smug tone. I have had ASMR all of my life. Of course, I had no idea what it was and thought that I was the only one who got body tingles when someone whispered or made other certain noises. One day last year, it occurred to me to search youtube for a video of somebody whispering. Lo and behold, there was a gold mind of them. I was really shocked, and learned that I wasn’t the only one. Apparently other people who had ASMR thought to make a video believing there were others like them. So the ASMR is not the phenomenon; YOUTUBE is the phenomenon. Thank’s to the internet we are discovering so many things that have never been discussed before. Thanks to anonymity of the internet, people are less afraid to put their secrets out there in hopes of finding others like them. A lot of people like myself thought this “feeling” was weird and we never talked about it in real life, fearing people would think we were freaks. So that is WHY you think it is a phenomenon. Just because you don’t experience it doesn’t make it not real. It’s like saying if you never experienced cancer, then it must not be real. Ridiculous , right? I’ve had it since I was born and I’m sure it’s been around through out since the dawn of time.

By: Eggsquatt

Eggsquatt — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 17:43:54 +0000

Mine happens for me with the aid of electronic music, typically the very fast, repetitive type. they start as small pulses where the bald spot on my head would be. Sometimes I can close my eyes (at my desk at work) and will them to become more intense by concentrating on the song, until they are shooting down my spine and across my shoulders to my elbows. I have realized that when it is happening i barely breathe, if at all. The longest experience I’ve had was about 30 seconds; I’m trying to figure out how to go longer.

I would like to volunteer for any type of research or data collection group concerning this topic.

Please email me at eggsquatt@yahoo.com

Thank you.

By: alicefusco

alicefusco — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 11:35:39 +0000

P.S. – As for this being a seizure, I’m wondering… I was bone-on-bone with my knees for several years until I had bilateral TKA a couple of years ago. I was on gabepentin for bone pain – and still had a very powerful response to page-turning. Would that suggest that it might not be a seizure? I wonder…

Sure would love to see research on this.

By: alicefusco

alicefusco — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 11:25:16 +0000

Oh! Love this stuff! I’m a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and a VERY big skeptic. I have tried to explain the very sudden, involuntary, pleasant, physical response I have to certain sounds – the sound of turning pages is a major trigger for me. I dearly love libraries but they are hell on me because everyone is turning pages. I spent thirteen years as a university student and had to photocopy everything I could not check out. It was absolutely impossible for me to read anything IN the library. I would photocopy stacks of journal articles to take home and read. There was no Internet library database in those days.

I feel a physical response that reminds me very much of general anesthesia. I feel a tingling on my head that sweeps down and VERY shortly, I’m asleep. It is extremely difficult for me to stay awake around triggers. My husband can always help me get to sleep if I’m having difficulty by reading for… oh, about four minutes.

Although my subjective impression of this phenomenon is that it’s neurological, I have always tried to give it a psychological explanation. I’m a scientist – my subjective experience is the thing I rely on the LEAST. Give me some solid measurement! I decided that the reason I experienced this page-turning response was the way my parents always read to us at bedtime. I thought perhaps the comfort of being cozily tucked into bed with my wonderful parents reading to me was what put me to sleep. Of course, devoting the most basic THINKING is sufficient to toss that hypothesis – the thing doesn’t feel psychological at all. It feels absolutely physical and is VERY hard to resist. I’ve had general anesthesia several times – it’s quite like that.

I would love, love, love to see some studies utilizing imaging technologies – or even EEG – on people such as me. I was so thunderstruck to find YouTube videos (bless them!) and other people like me. I always thought it was just a quirk of mine. I must say – whatever this thing is, it’s marvelous. It would be grand if we could figure out a way to work out just what happens in the brain… and maybe, just possibly, if it’s not a type of seizure to come up with a way to train the human brain to be able to do it. No one would need medication for sleep with this kind of thing.

Good blog – thank you for all the neat work you do!

By: JorgeJar

JorgeJar — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 06:19:41 +0000

WOW, I’m so amazed to find this blog and that this is a real phenomenon! For years I tried to explain to relatives, to friends to anyone…i asked if anyone had ever gotten that feeling and I tried so desperately to explain it.

Then I ran into a ASMR video on youtube, searched it because it seemed weird to me and found out the work of Steven Novella, and how i’m not the only one. It’s such a relief to find out that there’s a name to it and I’m not alone.

I don’t care much for the cause or for the study, maybe it’s an evolutionary thing, I’m not sure. I’m just content to know that people are experiencing this.

Thank you for this and i hope maybe someday we’ll have answers!

By: MrGamma

MrGamma — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 01:09:19 +0000

Oh it’s real, it might take you a while to change your eating habits to get the sensation.

It’s sensitivity. So the right brain nutrition might help you as well. It does get to be “autonomous” as well. After a while you can spend a whole day with tingles, with relatively no stress or external sensory input at all, it’s quite pleasant.

anyways, check it out if you have the time… http://www.asmrstudio.com/

By: Kimochii

Kimochii — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 13:00:31 +0000

It’s not what most people who dont expierence it think it is.
f

for me, its a tingling sensation that starts at my head and goes through my spine and if i REALLY like what im feeling or hearing it can even go down to my hands. Its a feeling that you dont want to stop at all. VERY pleasurable and not anywhere near a sexual way .

By: MsShane

MsShane — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 06:48:23 +0000

I HAVE to add…when I watch these youtube videos, that not all trigger ASMR. To get the triggers, they all have to have these things in common;
The person doing the video has to be attractive to me, or “easy on the eyes” it creates a “softer feel” or makes it more “fuzzy”
The lighting has to be slightly dim (I have noticed the women’s pupils are dialated a great deal in some of these videos which sets of a “good feel” for me)
The voice has to be VERY soft with an accent
The person has to appear to be paying extreme “attention” to me
They must be comfortable and methodical
They use special tools, toys, brushes, or whatever to make noises (page turning) and a good 3D mic..
Any abrupt LOUD noise is an instant “turn off” and ruins the mood

To anyone looking for good ASMR videos, (I am a youtube junkie) I recommend ~GentleWhispering, VeniVidiVulpes (Violet), TheOneLilium, and pigsbum53
~I am imagining there are trillions of pleasure bolts zapping around my brain as I cannot get enough and I set my phone up to listen and zone out reaching a point of nirvana into the best sleep ever. I could not imagine how intense one of these “sessions” would be in person?! I must be highly sensitive to these “reflexes”…non of the less I think its pretty awesome!

By: MsShane

MsShane — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 05:40:42 +0000

As I type out my response to this Blog, I have ear buds in and I am listening to a youtube ASMR video. I am having head tingles, mostly over my right eye and the right side of my head. I feel drowsy but completely euphoric. I would say from personal experience that the reason they call it a brain “orgasm” is because the feeling is addictive and you are on cloud nine. It is almost hypnotic. I had my first experience with this amazing feeling when I was in the first grade. I needed help with a math problem, and my beautiful blonde teacher gently bent over me, and began whispering how to solve it…asking to borrow my pencil…solving my math problem..I must say my head about hit my desk in oblivion. I could not focus on a word she was saying…all I could focus on was the amazing rush going from the top of my scalp, down the base of my neck, into my spine…and my eyes wanted to roll back into my head.(HAHA)~~I began to realize what was triggering this feeling. For, when she would walk away from me…it ended almost instantly. I started to call her over to my desk even when I had answers because I was addicted to the astounding euporia. As a young female child, my fellow girly friends and I would “do makeup” or brush each other’s hair…which, ultimatly causes the same feeling for me. I’m 27 now, and was having difficulties with insomnia. My doctors prescribed valium and serequel which knocked me two weeks into next month. I quit taking the pills and went browsing youtube in vain one night. Typed in “relax” and found the strangest video on a young woman playing a therapist. At first, I laughed out loud and was like..uhm seriously?? However, she was stunningly attractive, with a soft gentle voice and a brilliant accent, so I continued to watch. About 3 minutes in, I had a “flashback” of first grade. The video being titled ASMR led me here tonight. I am still baffled to this very day by these mysterious WONDERFUL feelings. Since my ASMR “discovery” I have been sleeping like a baby and my anxiety is so much better I do not take the addictive pills my doctor prescribed. I wished that everyone who struggled with anxiety or insomnia could use this very helpful (whatever it is?!?!) but from what I’ve read so far..it appears not everyone can enjoy this. I’m thankful I found this article. It has been a big help. I must admit; for a minute there…I was a little worried that I was crossing over to the weirdo side or that something was seriously wrong with me. I am entirely relaxed now and am enjoying my new found sense of inner peace. Now if only I could find a way to deal with physical pain without meds I’d be doing fabulous. lol Oh and on a footnote, I would instantly take a doctor up on some sort of scan for medical science on this phenomena. I would in a second, do a catscan or mri, or whatever to figure out what is going on here. I am curious beyond belief now.